


In A Second

by storiesbeyondthestars



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, M/M, Mentions of blood and injuries, Prompt: Animal Attack, Warning: slightly graphic animal attack, important: the dog does NOT die, just tagging to be sure, some people may find it graphic some might not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-28 21:21:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16250033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesbeyondthestars/pseuds/storiesbeyondthestars
Summary: They were gathering supplies on a seemingly peace planet, but in a second, everything changed.





	In A Second

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I am still doing this, just super slowly. An anonymous user on tumblr requested **Animal Attack, Klance, add some Keith's wolf (Kosmo) trying to protect Keith (the Victim)**.

There was a small part of Keith, a very small part of him, that looked forward to sleeping in his old bed in the castleship. Especially after two years camped on a space whale with his mother and cosmic wolf.

Keith cared a lot about his mother, he did.  He was a young man though, and they already saw flashbacks of each other’s lives (and some very sparse, very strange flashforwards as well) . Some personal space would have been nice.

There was no castleship anymore. Yes, his bed in Black was more comfortable than the ground, but it still wasn’t the same. He wasn’t a picky person though, he’d make due.

His mother also left, going to do what she had to do to help the Blade. He got it. He knew she hadn't abandoned him and was coming back, but he still missed her, even if he now had his own space in Black.

That said, he kind of felt himself going a little stir-crazy always being stuck in their lions. Even on the whale, he had been able to climb, to run, to pretend that he was on a planet and not on the back of a living creature. He hid how much that was starting to bother him, trying to keep up everyone’s morale. He had to.

Keith insisted that they land the second that someone found a suitable enough planet. At first, there were some protests. Some of the others said that they needed to keep going and not stop. As the days crept on though, there were less protests and more thankful groans when they could get out of the lions.

It also turned great for collecting other resources. They had a ton of rations, and weren’t going to run out of those and water anytime soon. Still, Hunk found it comforting to create and cook with what they found, and they only reaped the benefits of it. That was why they always made sure to check out where they were to see if things were edible. Their suits and scanners made it easy to find out if things were poisonous or not most of the time.

Unfortunately for them, without those archives, they had no idea if there was any predators on the planets they found . Their long-range scanners didn’t work right since they tried to save their lions' energy.

That meant that they had to always be on their guard.

Keith glanced at the ticker he had on him, knowing that he still had a little while before he had to head back to the others. This planet had interesting vegetation that reminded him of a fruit-vegetable hybrid. There were some things that looked like mushrooms, but he wasn't too sure about those and left them.

A frown spread across his lips. His pack was pretty full, but there were definitely a few more trees in sight where he could get some things. He eyed them before turning to Kosmo. “Here, Buddy.” He set the bag down in front of him. “Take this back to the others and get a new one, or wait til they empty it to bring it back, okay? I’ll be right around here.”

Kosmo met his eyes, and he could feel the confirmation pressing into his mind.  He never found a way to explain to anyone else how he knew what the wolf was thinking at times, or how Kosmo knew what he was thinking . It was why he always insisted that Kosmo would tell him his name  eventually . He had his own thoughts, so  surely he had his own name?

Maybe Kosmo was his name, and he told Keith through everyone else. Either way, the name stuck, and it wasn’t that bad, despite his initial protests. Besides, there was something nice about having the entire team take interest in his pet.

The wolf vanished in a flash of blue light, and Keith stretched out. He looked again at the tree he had eyed earlier, and took a few steps towards it.

That’s when he heard the cracking of branches. He learned early on in his walk that the tree-like objects were brittle and much more breakable than wood. There was a lot of it too, so it was loud to walk over.

He glanced in the direction the noise came from, sharp eyes scanning every inch of the forest to catch any movement .  He learned from his time with the Blade that his eyesight, especially at night, was much better than a full-human’s, as was his hearing . It was why he felt safe to venture a little father away.

He tensed as he heard a few more cracks.  Slowly , he started to retreat, not making any sudden movements, and not turning his back.

Running was worst possible thing that someone could do with a predator (at least on Earth). That  normally activated some kind of attack instinct. Keith had no idea if what he was hearing was dangerous, or alive at all, but he wanted to be cautious.

He moved farther away from the woods and then paused, waiting to see if he could hear anything.

His helmet came to life, causing Keith to jump.

“Yo Team Leader,  I think you got us enough stuff. Hunk is about ready to cry!” Lance said with a laugh.

“Lance,” he growled, his heart pounding. “You nearly-“

Something lunged at Keith, slamming into him from behind. A startled sound escaped his mouth as the heavy weight knocked him over. Pain seared up his arm, and his suit blinked with indications of an abrasion and a break.

A giant paw slammed down on his head. Keith struggled for a moment before his hand brushed by his thigh and his bayard appeared in it. He swung his sword around. A terrifying,  ungodly yowl right out of his nightmares echoed through the air. He moved, from the creature, though his helmet got left behind.

Fear hit him hard as the creature snarled at him. Keith had no animal to compare it to. It looked like an eldritch abomination; a combination of a feline, a spider, and a lizard at the very least.

It opened its mouth to hiss at him, revealing rows upon rows of teeth that seemed to go down it’s throat. It scrambled backwards as it came at him again, this time going for his sword hand instead of his entire body. Keith swung, but for such a huge creature, it was fast, going around him and slashing at his arm. It’s nails were strong enough to rip through the black, flexible armour of their suits.

He cried out, the sword falling from his hand. It grabbed him by his shoulder, and rows of teeth sunk into his flesh. It ripped as the creature swung him around. He careened through the air and rolled across the ground, a line of blood left behind him.

A massive paw came down on the white armour covering his back. It was able to withstand the heavy weight, preventing him from getting a cracked spine. The creature opened its mouth above his head  impossibly wide, almost like a snake.

It yowled again as something tackled it off of him. He saw a flash of black and vibrant blue, but he couldn't move. Everything hurt, and his heart was going to pound out of his chest.

Then he heard the high-pitched yelp, and jerked up. He saw Kosmo hit the ground, and panic rushed through him.

“No, no, no, no!”

The creature headed towards his wolf, and Keith didn’t care if it attacked him. He wasn’t going to let it hurt Kodmo.

He grabbed a rock and threw it at the creature’s head. It snarled and turned towards him, and lunged again.

He rolled, gasping again at the claws grazed his side enough to leave some damage. A deep, snarling growl prompted him to look up to see Kosmo getting back up. There was blood on his fur. Was he hurt? He couldn’t  be hurt .

Keith screamed as he leg erupted with intense pain. The monster dragged him backwards, towards the woods. He could hear quiet growls and snarls, and he  _ knew _ . He knew this creature wasn’t alone.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he babbled out over and over again, though Keith had no idea who he was talking to. Was it Kosmo for leaving him injured? Was it his mother who he wouldn’t see again? Was it the team for failing to lead them home? Was it Lance, who he had been pushing away to protect himself, because of some stupid visions that he saw on the whale?

He was going to die. The monsters were going to rip him apart and eat him alive.  Maybe they would go for his neck and it’d be over for him quick.

Tears prickled at the corner of his eyes. He hoped that Kosmo got away. That they wouldn’t go for his wolf after they finished with him.

Keith flinched as Kosmo appeared in front of him. The wolf's teeth latched onto his once-white, red gauntlet so that they wouldn't pierce his skin. There was a flash, and Keith felt like he wasn't actually in any specific time or space.

Then they reappeared again, and then the screams and yells started.

The pressure from his leg vanished as yellow beams of light streaked over his head. A yowl echoed through the air.

“Keith!” Lance hovered above him and stared in horror. Someone applied pressure to his leg, and Keith cringed as Lance muttered, “Oh god.”

“Move, Lance!” Allura was there now. Keith cried out as she lifted him, his face pressed against her white and pink armour. His hand flopped against it, and blood smeared over it.

“Kosmo,” Keith breathed out, and looked back at Lance. “Lance. Kosmo. Is he okay? Is he hurt? Is he hurt? That thing hurt him. You have to help him. You have to help.” Was he crying? He felt like he was crying. They had to help Kosmo. Keith heard him yelp. He  was hurt . He couldn’t  be hurt .”

“I got him, Keith!” Lance called out as Allura ran as fast as she could into the Black Lion. “I’ve got him!”

Black spots appeared over his eyes. A loud ringing echoed through his ears as Allura placed him on a solid surface. Shiro and Coran looked down at him with terrified expressions. Cold rushed over him, and everything went dark.

…

Keith came to with a gasp. His eyes flew open as the frosted, glass surface above him vanished. He heaved in and out, despite the fact that his chest ached. No, it wasn’t  just his chest, it was his entire body.

He  slowly moved to sit up, muscles pulling  stiffly . It took him a moment to realize that he was in the healing pod they installed in Black for Shiro. They made sure that each one of the lions had one when they left the castle.

His eyes fell to his armour, and Keith flinched. His black armour was  absolutely shredded. There were very distinctive scratch and bite marks on the white part. Blood coated the entire thing, and the white parts actually blended with the red accents on it.

(Later, he would be grateful that they thought to synthesize a couple spares of their armour before the castle  was destroyed .)

The memories of what happened hit him hard. He found food. He sent Kosmo back. The animal attacked him.

Kosmo.

“Kosmo!”

There was a flurry of motion in his peripheral vision. He looked around as panic roes up his throat. A broken sob escaped his lips as he saw Lance and Kosmo as they scrambled to get up. Being curled around one another made it a little difficult.

“Keith,” Lance breathed out as he stumbled over. His blue eyes scanned him, and hands hovered  awkwardly as if he wasn’t sure what to do with them. A split second passed, and then he swooped down. He hugging him  firmly , but still  gently . “Thank God. We were all was so scared. There was so much blood and I  just …” He rested his head on top of Keith’s.

Though his arms were still shaky and sore, Keith still reached up to wrap his arms around him. He had almost died, hadn’t he?

(The healing pods didn't work as well as they did in the castle. They healed major, lethal injuries, but left aches, pains, and scars behind.)

There was a high pitched whine, and they both looked up as Kosmo appeared in front of them. The wolf balanced over Keith’s legs, careful not to step on them. Lance kept his arm on his back to keep him upright as he reached forward. Keith brought the wolf close to them. Kosmo settled his weight on his legs, and though there was a bit of pain, the comfort it prompted was worth it.

Kosmo whined as he snuggled as close as he could, and licked his face. Keith brushed his hands over his fur  carefully , and looked for any wounds but found none. They must have put him into one of the other pods.

“He’s okay,” Lance assured him. “I made sure he was.”

Keith nodded his head. He let go of Kosmo with one hand, and reached out to wrap it around Lance instead. This way he could hold them both close. Lance froze for a moment, before his free arm rested on the wolf's back. The three of them cuddled up to one another, none possessing the will or want to let go.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Click here to see my rules for [Bad Things Happen Bingo](https://storiesbeyondthestars.tumblr.com/post/177253571758/here-is-your-card-for-bad-things-happen-bingo).


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